To restaurateur Tom Guinney, drinking bottled water is as uncool as smoking in a crowded restaurant  and it's a fad that won't last long.

To restaurateur Tom Guinney, drinking bottled water is as uncool as smoking in a crowded restaurant  and it's a fad that won't last long.

Guinney, an owner of the Gastronomy restaurant group, is one of several Salt Lake City business owners who have joined Mayor Rocky Anderson's newly launched "Knock Out Bottled Water" campaign and vowed not to sell bottled water at his establishments. Guinney says he thinks that soon a majority of restaurants won't sell "bottled tap water."

"This is not a vision of something that will take place in the next decade; (selling bottled water) is probably where smoking was in public restaurants and private clubs four or five years ago," Guinney said. "I speculate that in 36 months the consumption of (bottled water) sold in the hospitality industry will be half of what it presently is."

Anderson unveiled his new campaign  www.knockoutbottledwater.com  Friday morning, noting his involvement in a national movement to eliminate bottled water in lieu of tap water. The mayor is encouraging business owners and residents to commit to not selling or drinking bottled water and support others who have committed to do the same.

"The purchase of bottled water is absurd," Anderson said. "It is a sign, when we purchase bottled water, of our destructive consumerism. It is a reckless waste of public resources (not to use tap water), and when we purchase (bottled water) it is a waste of our own monetary resources as well."

Establishments who have committed not to serve bottled water will display a "Knock Out Bottled Water" decal, Anderson said. So far, 15 restaurants, which are listed on the campaign's Web site, have agreed to participate in the campaign. Anderson said a majority of restaurants have not yet responded to the campaign request, but some business owners have declined to participate.

"One club owner said 'no' because he can make money off of selling bottled water," Anderson said. "That seems pretty short-sighted to me."

Raffi Daghlian, who owns Cedars of Lebanon restaurant on 154 E. 200 South in Salt Lake City, says he decided to commit to the no-bottled water campaign because of the environmental impacts the industry can have.

According to the Sierra Club, nine out of 10 plastic water bottles are not recycled. Other opponents of plastic bottles say the amount of oil required to make enough bottles for the United States for one year is enough to generate enough electricity for 250,000 homes or fuel for 100,000 cars for one year.

"I saw some reports locally and internationally about the cause and this position, and I just didn't want to use those bottled waters anymore, especially the plastic ones," Daghlian said. "We have to start somewhere, and a little bit here and a little bit there just adds up." Daghlian says he usually doesn't tell customers that the restaurant has bottled water available anyway, because he doesn't agree with the amount of energy it takes to make plastic bottles. The risk of losing revenue for not selling bottled water isn't a worry, Daghlian says.

"I have more of a conscience than a calculation of profits in my head, and everything is not about money," Daghlian said. "The greedier you get is not going to make you any happier. We can live with less."

Popular Comments

Below is an excerpt from Deseret news a few weeks ago. This shows the Health
effects that would be felt if we did away with bottled water.

The
bottled water industry has recently come under attack by critics who say they
are concerned
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12:54 a.m. Oct. 13, 2007

Top comment

Chris

I wrote the comments above, and the reason I did is because I work at a
hospital. I can tell you that from a medical stand point, this would be a very
bad idea. A large majority of patients that are admitted to the hospital have a
medical condition
More..

12:58 a.m. Oct. 13, 2007

Top comment

VGB

I never thought much about using bottled water before Ragin' Rocky began his
campaign, but now I'm going to start using it. I think that anything that Rocky
opposes must be a good thing. I'm going to buy a case of it this morning. Thanks
Rocky!

Amy Choate-Nielsen is a special projects reporter for the Deseret News where she covers a variety of in-depth issues, including the environment, public welfare and education. Since joining the paper in 2004, she has more ..